Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell on Thursday ordered the detention of the man who sat with his feet on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s desk during the Jan. 6 Capitol riots and ripped his defense lawyer over ''frivolous'' claims of prosecutorial misconduct, reports CNN.
"This was not a peaceful protest. Hundreds of people came to Washington, D.C., to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power," Beryl Howell said in an hourlong hearing for Richard Barnett.
"We're still living here in Washington, D.C., with the consequences of the violence that this defendant is alleged to have participated in," she said.
"Just outside this courthouse ... are visible reminders of the January 6 riot and assault on the Capitol," the judge added.
Barnett is facing a felony charge of entering the Capitol with a dangerous weapon, as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawful entry to a restricted building, disorderly conduct and theft.
"The titles of those offenses don't even properly capture the scope of what Mr. Barnett is accused of doing here," Howell said.
Howell granted the government’s appeal, effectively ruling that Barnett will stay in prison for months or longer.
Solange Reyner ✉
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